Reignite
by MrsGirlyHurley
Summary: While Commander Shepard and crew are off saving the galaxy, a C-Sec officer lives her life day-by-day until a rouge turian comes up from her past with an offer she couldn't refuse. Timeline ME2 & ME3. OC story with canon characters appearing here and there… Rated: T for now.
1. Chapter 1

"What are you doing?" she cries as he sets her down behind a metal crate. She claws for his armor but he takes her hands and gently pushes them away. Her lips begin to tremble as fat tears stream down her dirty face.

"You're going home Toni." he says as he brings his omni-tool screen up. His fingers swiftly type in a code. His mandibles press to his face as he avoids her eyes.

"Y-you're coming with me, right?" she pleads. He types another code in before shutting his omni-tool off. He looks around the corner to see if they've been followed. No one. Yet.

"If I go with you, you're going to die. They're find you again," he says a little too firmly. "I have to make sure you're safe. Even if that means I stay behind."

Her small hands grab his forearm and draw it to her chest. He looks over at her and horrid mess that was once so badly torn. That bastard had taken a shotgun to her heart. Thank the Spirits he was able to knock her out of the way and only get hit with the leftover spray for the gun. Any other precise hitting gun would have killed her instantly. He was able to use the rest of his medi-gel to stop the bleeding but he was positive by the look of one of the holes that a bullet managed to bury itself in her lung and possibly near her heart. Her breathing was hoarse and she was starting to wheeze. But he knew she wouldn't last much longer if he didn't get her off this asteroid.

"I don't want to leave without you!" she pleads. She holds his hand to her face. His heart breaks for her. He lifts his hand to cup her other cheek and lean forward to touch his forehead to hers as tears ran over his fingers.

"I will come for you once everything is taken care of." he whispers. Lies. He knows as well as she does that he'll probably die today. If only things were different. If only they met during a different time and place. Not in a filth ridden cell where they were paraded in front of slave buyers. If only they could be together; he'd take care of her. He loved her… this little girl who he considered his sister. The only kind person- a child- he knew since he dragged her into this life of Hell.

He didn't want to leave her. She was all he knew. He was all she knew. But he had to at least know one of them was getting out of this alive. And it was going to be her no matter what.

He quickly pulled away from her as his ears picked up movement. He turned to look over his shoulder and strained his ears. Down the hall, maybe a bit farther. He could hear the shouting of the mercenary group. They're getting closer.

"Damn!" he cursed softly. He had sent a message to the pickup group hours ago. Why hasn't he heard back from them? He wonders if they were compromised.

He stands up with his left arm, his good arm, glowing with biotic power. He faces two unfortunate mercenaries and throws a biotic slam at them. The moment they're knocked over he pulls his gun from his waist line and shoots them both down. He ducks back down.

"Argos?"

He turns back to look at the girl. Her eyes are wide with fear. She still isn't use to seeing him use his biotics in front of her. He reaches out and pulls her close to his chest.

"You need to calm down. Slow your breathing. You can't let the adrenaline beat your heart faster or you'll end up with a heart attack," he heard her take deep breaths. "Good girl. Your heart is already weak enough." They needed to move. Now.

He scoops her up in his arms and moves from their hiding spot. He breaks into a run when one of the mercs shouted out after sighting them. He zig zags in his run as bullets whiz by him. He stumbled as a bullet buries itself in his thigh, nearly dropping the child. She cries hysterically as blue blood seeps from the entry wound.

"Toni!" he scolds her. "You need to breathe!" she obeys him and covers her mouth to stop crying.

He takes a sharp turn and runs up a flight of stairs. His arm burns from holding her weight and being shot. He quickly looks around and finds himself in the upper part of the compound warehouse. Plenty of hiding spaces. He darts to the farthest part of the warehouse and ducks behind crates. One of them is open and he squeezes the girl and himself into the small space. He strains his ears again and hears nothing. Safe for now, however long that may be.

His omni-tool beeped.

"Meridius, you still alive?" _Now_ they decide contact him!? He brings up his arm and unlocks his omni-tool again. A screen appears with a scarred-faced mercenary staring back at him. He glares at the screen."Oh, so you are still alive," the merc has the decency to sound impressed.

"Why didn't you contact me earlier!" he sneers at the merc. The merc in return runs his hand through his silver hair. Argos caught that the merc has a blue eye that didn't match the other brown one.

"Fucking Ramsey found us out. I have no idea how, but the bastard is onto us," the merc grumbles. A little hand grasps his own and he looks over at Toni. She isn't even looking at him but staring at the wall. Her lips were set in a thin line and her chin stuck out. He squeezes her hand gently and looks back at the screen.

"The plan has changed. You're taking the package alone," This piques the merc's interest.

"That's fucking suicide," the merc states with a chuckle. "But whatever. How are you getting out if not through us?"

Toni squeezes his hand harder and now she's looking at him. Her eyes are wide again.

Argos turns away from her and taps the keys of his omni-tool.

"I'm sending you a nav point of where you'll find her," he looks up. "What's your ETA?" The merc opens his own omni-tool and reads the navpoint.

"Ten minutes. Five if we run."

"Then sprint. Meridius out."

"This better be God damn worth it. Massani out." Argos switched his omni-tool off and glanced over at Toni. He instantly regretted having that conversation in front of her. He quickly gathered her in his arms and held her close where she openly burst into tears again.

"Toni. I told you...you need to...breathe," he swallowed down the lump that forming in his throat. "Toni...sing me a song. Sing me the song from your favorite story."

The little girl shuttered a breath and peered up at him with red eyes. He looked down at her on his chest and smoothed back her black hair. He shifted her weight to his good arm. "How about the one you taught me?" he nuzzles her forehead with his own. "Sing for me Toni."

She shifted her body and wrapped her little arms around his neck. He could hear her struggle to breathe while crying.

_"I know you...I walked with you once upon a dream… "_ she softly sang to him. Her little hand traced the white markings on his face as if memorizing them. His eyes closed. He didn't want to do this.

_"I know you… that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam… "_

He fiddled with something in her hand and she could hear a slight popping noise. She's heard that noise before and her eyes teared up again. Caps being taken off needles sound like that. She kept singing but her voice began to falter. She nuzzled his face with her own and she could almost hear him purr in content. Almost.

_"...and I know its true that visions are seldom what they seem,"_ her voice trembled even more as his hand rose and hung loosely at her neck. _"But if I know you… I'll know what you'll do…"_ His opened his eyes and stared back at her. Her eyes seem to smiling and even though tears poured from them _"You'll love me at once… the way you did once… upon a dream."_

She didn't even flinch when he drove the needle into her neck. He pushed the plunger and emptied the syringe. He watch as almost instantaneously, her blue eyes glazed over and her head rolled to his a split second he was scared that he overdosed her but he could see her breathing. Her blue eyes stared up at him with dilated pupils.

"I _will_ find you again, Toni," he ran his hands over her eyelids and shut them. And that's when it hit him as he looked down at her small body in his arms. If it wasn't for her breathing, she looked dead. He held her closer to his body, as close as he could without crushing her. His arms were shaking. The only good thing in his life was Toni and he has to leave her in a crate and hope to the Spirits that she isn't found until Massani and his group finds her.

But he couldn't break down now. Not when he could hear the Blue Suns come in the warehouse from downstairs. He quickly laid Toni down in the crate and folded her arms over her stomach. With one last look at her he found the sides of the door and shut the container. He shoved his shoulder into it to make sure it was sealed. He then sprinted from container to container until he could get to the nearest exit door. He was about to run to another crate when heard the distinct sound of a shotgun ratchet. Argos looked over his shoulder and down the barrel of Ramsey's favored gun._ Bastard really likes shotguns._

"End of the line, turian. Tell me where she is," the human merc sneered at him. Argos sneered back at him with his mandibles pressed firmly to his face. His arm began to glow with biotic power. Ramsey saw the burst of blue dark energy and took a step back. His gun followed Argos. As the turian stood to his full height, he fired.

_**BAM.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Good morning Officer Capello._

_Time: 0500._

_Current date: 340th solar cycle of Earth._

_No current events listed for today._

The alarm had no chance as an angry hand swatted it off the nightstand. It landed on the floor with a splintering crack, followed by a dubious moan from its owner.

Antonia Capello forced the comforter and sheets off her unwilling body and kicked them to the foot of the bed. The chill of the room sent goosebumps crawling on her skin. She yawned and dragged herself out of her bed and into the bathroom. The shower automatically turned on and set to her preferred temperature:freezing. She shimmied out of her sleepwear and eyed the shower. She could feel the cool mist coming from the streaming water and she dreaded it even more.

"Just jump in and out," she tried to coax herself.

"One.. two…" Antonia jumped into the line of fire...or in this case ice. She shrieked as the water ran down her back. She dunked her head under the stream and scrubbed her face with her hands. It hadn't been thirty seconds before she was out of her ice bath and grabbing for the nearest towel; a towel that barely fit around her waist, let alone contained the soppy mess that was her hair.

"I hate early mornings" she hissed through clenched teeth. She quickly toweled off and wrapped up her hair to dry. Her undergarments lay neatly on the countertop and she quickly put them on.

_I really need to buy more towels._

With her hair out of the way she applied a light amount of makeup to her face to keep her looking decent for work. Antonia always considered herself as a pretty girl but no knock out like the asari. Blue eyes and parted coral lips stared back at her in the mirror as she applied mascara. She could never keep her mouth closed when putting on mascara. Her hair was another mission on its own. Fifteen minutes was the usual time it took to comb the tangles out of the thick black tress; and she thanked her Hispanic heritage for that particular gene. Once combed and smoothed of frizz it looked rather shiny, but she hardly ever kept it down. Her hands expertly twisted and smoothed her hair in a tight bun on the lower part of her neck. A cloud of hairspray would hold things in place.

The bathroom closet already had her uniform folded and ready for her: a solid navy blue C-Sec working uniform with a large waist belt and heavy combat boots. She took each piece and changed.

Her hands smoothed out the wrinkles on her pants before going to button up her shirt. That's when her reflection told her she was forgetting something. Red and faint pink scars where hidden under her work blouse. An orange light flickered in the darkness of her clothing. The omnitool on her arm came to life with a blip noise. Antonia quickly typed a few codes into her tool before seeing the orange light turn green.

Now she was ready for work.

* * *

_Good morning Officer Capello._

_Would you like the morning news?_

Antonia's boots sounded across the floor. She turned the corner into her small kitchen. An L shaped counter with a stove, sink, and refrigerator made up what was her kitchen. She also owned a toaster and automatic tea kettle, which were little blessings on mornings like this. The telecom prompted her again with the news.

"Sure. Play the morning news." The living room vid switched on with a faint beep.]

_Good morning. Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani reporting. In today's news, the suspicous reports of the late Commander Shepard being sighted alive on the Citadel, have been comfirmed. Shepard has also been seen with two Cerberus officals as well as a rouge C-Sec officer…_

Antonia frowned. Commander Shepard is in leuge with Cerberus? The same Commander Shepard who died from a geth strike two years ago?

"I swear. Every word that comes out of that reporter's mouth is pure bullshit," she mumbled. Her glass tea kettle beeped as the tea basket rose from the water. Antonia loved this kettle. Some pre-staging, a press of a button and the tea was ready made for her in the morning. Three sugars and half-n-half...or the alien equivalent to half-n-half. Not sure where the milk and cream come from either...She would rather not know where the milk came from either.

Antonia idly brought up her omni-tool and checked for any incoming messages. She scrolled through her email and saw nothing special besides spam and daily updates from C-Sec. She did however notice an email from her sister. It was sent from the night before. The subject didn't seem to urgent so she figured she'd read it at or after work.

But there still wasn't any message from _him_. Fifteen years later and still no message from him at all. She knew he was alive and somewhere out there, she just knew. She grit her teeth. He better be out there and _alive_. And he better find her soon…

* * *

C-Sec's Captain Bailey impatiently paced back and forth in quarters. Random officers were taking their time and just strolling in the briefing room when quarters should have started ten minutes ago. Antonia was tucked in the far corner of the room where she usually sat during quarters.

It would be all day desk work today. It had been a few years since Commander Shepard and the Normandy crew stopped the Reapers. They had nearly finished rebuilding the Citadel. Fortunately Antonia wasn't on there during the battle. She was about to put pen to paper until the derriere of her friend and working partner planted itself on her work. Antonia frowned at the intruding guest; a lavender asari named Nydia Ta'Rossa.

"Hey lady, welcome back," Nydia greeted with a smile.

"Nydia, I swear if you mess these papers up.." Antonia threatened mildly. Her com, datapad, and terminal hadn't been working properly this entire week, and she was already behind on a month's worth of papers. It was back to the dark ages of pen and paper for her until it got fixed.

"I won't, I won't! I didn't sit on the important ones anyway," Nydia said waving her hand dismissively in the air. "Suppose someone does something stupid today and we'll be able to stretch our legs?"

"Doubt it. It's been awfully quiet since we been moved from Zakara ward to the Embassies. Besides they'd probably send a field officer out first to show strong standing." Nydia frowned at Antonia and folder her arms over her chest.

"That's it? So you're just gonna sit and do paperwork for goddess knows how long?" Antonia shrugged her shoulders.

"Pretty much. I'd rather find the asshole who sent that lovely message to Bailely about my… condition."

"Oh yeah. How was the trip to the human homeworld?"

"Completely pointless. A total two weeks of traveling to Earth, sitting in a hospital for an extra week and a half, just to be told I'm completely fit for any type of duty."

"Yeah well I guess I'd be pissed too."

"What about you? Finally hook up with that guy you like? What's his name…?"

"Duggar?"

"Yeah, the green creasted krogan, right?"

"Well," Nydia smirked and tossed her head. "Let me tell you that krogans put those quads to good use. Who would have known those giant...muscley brutes would be any good in bed."

"Okay- way too much info."

"Oh don't be such a prude. I bet you're curious like I was!"

"Nope."

"Well anyway, he got orders back to Tuchanka a week ago. They didn't say why but, well, he said he'd be back for me. It's not like the krogan females are readily avaiable these days," Nydia chuckled in her throat. Antonia rolled her eyes at her paper. Nydia would never admit it, but she was a hopeless romantic. Ever since meeting her on her first day at C-Sec Academy she's been looking for 'the one' she could make a bond mate.

Just as Antonia was going to comment, a group of turian officers strolled in, their flangeling voices cracking with laughter.

"About damn time you lazy bastards!" Captain Bailey yelled with his scratchy voice. The turian officers quickly found empty seats to occupy. "Listen up, all of you! The next time you keep me waiting in quarters I'll have you doing mall security for a month! Bunch of damn high schoolers."

Zakara ward's C-Sec captain slammed a stack of files onto his desk. The abrupt noise grabbed the attention of the remaining officers in the room. Bailey then began to grab each file one by one and toss it to the officers.

"Callias and Bion- Zakara ward," Bailey tossed a file. One of the turians caught the file and opened it to show his partner. "Rodriguez, go with them. I have a volus claiming a quarian stole his credit chit. Sort it out," he added. Officer Rodriguez groaned rather loudly to show his contempt for his assignment. "Get it done Rodriguez," Captain Bailey warned.

Bailey handed out a few more assignments before slapping a folder down on Antonia's paperwork. _I swear if another person fucks with these papers…_

Antonia had to restrain herself from glaring up at her captain.

"Capello… erm…" Bailey rubbed the back of his neck. "I need to put you on a special assignment."

"Desk work right? Captain my medical records have cleared me for field work!"

"That's not what I was going to ask you, Capello," the captain said as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Oh," Antonia said sheepishly.

"We have a suspect in custody. She came clean of those involved in the red sand bust last night. Also she's been granted immunity for giving names."

"Okay… so what do I need to do? Sounds like the job is done."

Bailey tapped the folder with his finger, prompting her to open the file. When she did open the file, She scanned through the paperwork for the suspect's name. Upon finding the name, her blood ran hot.

"You're shitting me."

"I shit you not. Hell of a surprise once we found out who it was."

"And I have to deal with it?"

"Pretty much. Politics are in play. I'm afraid of the ramifications if we incarcerate her…"

"Damnit… where's she being held?"

* * *

Nydia had jogged alongside Antonia as she stormed down C-Sec Central to the main elevator. The asari could barely contain her smile as her partner turned an interesting shade of red.

"So a little sister huh?"

"Yup. And a huge pain in my ass."

Antonia slammed her fist into the call button of the elevator, then crossed her arms.

"I didn't know you had family on the Citadel."

"I don't. They live on Illium."

Nydia opened the case file that Antonia had left behind in quarters. She originally meant to give it back to her, but Antonia decided she didn't really want it.

"Then, what's your sister doing here? Her file says she's fifteen..." Nydia suddenly paused as they reached the questioning room. She looked up at her work partner with knitted blue brows. "It also says she's an asari?"

"Yup. A dead one after I'm done with her."


	3. Chapter 3

_"Have you lost your freaking mind?!"_

"Antonia! I knew you'd come rescue me!"

Alana Capello jumped from her seat and held out her arms. Nydia leaned against the wall to watch the family reunion.

"Rescue you? You're lucky I don't kill you where you sit!" Antonia threw her arms in the air. "Batarians?! Really?! You_ know _what kind of shit they could have done to you!" she then approached Alana and shoved her back into her seat. Alana glared at her sister before folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh they didn't hurt me at all! I met them back on Illium and seemed like really nice guys."

Antonia's face fell into her hands. On the opposite end of the room, Nydia snickered.

_Oh the stupidity…_

"Of course batarian guys will be nice to a pretty and young asari," she rubbed her temples. "These 'guys' are known drug dealers- criminals, Alana! How did you get involved with them?"

"Well… remember my boyfriend Thomas?" Alana began fiddling with her hands. The action didn't go unnoticed by the two cops.

"No. I never had the pleasure of meeting him," Antonia said sarcastically. Ever since Alana turned fifteen, she had gone through so many boyfriends and girlfriends that she lost count.

"Well he broke up with me. I was really upset and mother wasn't any help because she never liked him."

Antonia had to hold back a smile. Maeja never approved of anything less than perfect for her daughter. Especially when it came to possible 'suitors'.

"My other friend Mia knew this guy named Barus who said he could get us off Illium and party at the Citadel… to get my mind off of Thomas."

Antonia sighed. She really felt like throwing Alana into Lock Up and being done with her stupidity.

"Where does Maeja think you are?"

Alana wrung her hands.

"Visiting my friend Mia here."

Nydia snorted.

"Well that's going to be difficult," Nydia spoke up while reading through a case file. "Mia's been arrested for distributing red sand last night."

"Yeah yeah I know."

"So that means we could put you in Lock Up or…"

"No. I have a better idea. She's going home," Antonia interrupted. Alana's face fell in horror.

"No, no, no! I've been trying to go out for months! Mother never lets me go anywhere!"

Nydia looked over at Antonia who crossed her arms. She had to resist the urge to laugh again.

"Alana, you need to go home. Be thankful that I may not tell your mom what happened yesterday."

"I thought you were playing the mommy role?" Nydia commented with a smile. Antonia glared at her partner which in turn made Nydia burst out laughing.

* * *

The next few days passed by without a hitch. Antonia brought her sister to stay at her apartment until she could purchase shuttle tickets to Illium. Originally Antonia had every intention of sending Alana back home on her own; until Antonia heard her sister making midnight phone calls to jump ship on the layover between shuttles. That was when Antonia made the regrettable decision to pack her bags and make a family visit to Illium.

The sisters walked idly through the Earth district. Their shuttle wasn't leaving until later that evening so they decided to go for lunch. Alana would stop at a shop and beg to go in, but Antonia would grab her hand and drag her away. She just spent half her paycheck on the tickets and didn't have enough to waste on material things… as much as she secretly wanted to.

"Whenever I come to the Citadel you never let me do anything!" Alana would complain.

"Didn't dad get you your own credit chit?"

Alana paused and looked away. "I… I think Mia stole it."

It was Antonia's turn to pause. She watched as Alana rubbed her arm in embarrassment.

"Did you call dad? Or your mom?"

Alana rubbed her arm harder. "Yeah. I called the night you took me to your place. I left a message and they haven't called back."

Antonia sighed with a knowing smile. She put an arm around the young asari and gave a little squeeze. Alana smiled back at her.

Even though Antonia wasn't around much in Alana's life, she did actually feel bad for her. Alana was the product of the first recorded cross species marriage in human history. Both her parents were big figured politicians for equal species rights on Earth. Maeja and Carlos were always too busy to pay attention to what their daughter was doing. As long as her grades were kept up as well as her impeccable appearance, they really didn't spend much time with her. Antonia had to wonder how Alana wasn't getting caught in all the trouble she gets into. She only let her sister go as a favor to herself.

"Come on. I have enough credits to get us a ridiculously yummy lunch."

"The Cosmic Coconut Cafe?"

"Where else?"

* * *

"Antonia Capello! I have half the mind to throw you out of my cafe! You don't call or visit me for six months and here you come- with your sister- only to tell me that you're leaving for Illium!"

Paola Vega-Medina was the owner of the Cosmic Coconut and was also kind of woman you didn't want to piss off. Her large arms were folded over her ample chest and she was leaning over Antonia, who had shrunk down in her seat. Alana, who was sitting across from her sister, had to cover her mouth to keep from giggling.

_"Abuela…"_

"Don't you abuela me _que mala nieta!_"

_"Lo siento…"_ Antonia apologized with a smile. Paola pursed her lips together for a moment longer before taking Antonia's face in her hands and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"I know, I know. You're all grown up and a busy woman. You know I just miss and worry about you," Maria then turned to Alana and beamed at her. "And you! You look just as lovely as your mother! It's so nice you come all the way to visit your _hermana meyor!"_

Alana looked lost for a moment before smiling back. Paola was one of the largest human women she had ever seen. Not to say Paola was obese, not at all, but the woman had very robust curves. Her black curly hair was tied up in a sloppy bun and her skin was dark.

"Now! How about my famous _huevos rancheros_, hm? I remember they were your favorite?" Paola offered to Antonia.

"That would be perfect."

"And you, _mi hija?_"

Alana had that lost look again. Antonia frowned at her sister.

"Are you ok Lana?"

Alana's eyes snapped over at Antonia and a dark blue blush crept across her face. She pointed at her ear where her translator was.

"I can't understand her…just some of the words... I think my translator is broken."

Paola and Antonia looked at eachother before realization dawned on both of them.

"The translators only translates English and a few other big Earth languages. It must not translate Spanish. How odd," Antonia explained.

Paola laughed heartily and put a hand on Alana's shoulder.

"I'm sorry child. I'll speak English for you," she gave a little squeeze. "Now. I don't have much asari food here, but I hear you like human food yes?"

"I do!"

"Then I make you both something special."

* * *

Antonia set her fork down on her empty plate and patted her stomach. Of course it was a double order of huevos rancheros with a side of rice and beans. Alana didn't have much of the rancheros but she demolished her rice and beans. The two sisters sighed contently.

The cafe was somewhat busy today. Mostly humans came to eat the Hispanic cuisine but Antonia noted the number of asari here and even a lone drell in the corner. Paola had once boasted about two krogan visiting her cafe in search of a fish meal- to which she happily complied with fish and rice. But the thing that threw her off was the one dextro-amino alien sitting at the bar. Alana seemed to noticed her staring and followed her line of sight.

"Isn't that strange huh? Doesn't he know he can't eat anything here?"

Just as she spoke, the turian at the bar looked to his right slightly over his shoulder. He looked at Antonia and nodded his head in greeting. Her heart fluttered as she noticed his white markings, similar to _his,_ but then dropped when she realized he was a lighter skinned turian. _He_ was dark grey from what she could remember. She sighed and then looked at her sister.

"Lana, keep your voice down. Turians have better hearing than the both of us combined," Antonia spoke in a whisper. She nodded her head back at the turian who in turn grinned at her. Or so she thought he did. At this angle all she saw was his mandibles flutter slightly. They stared at each other for another passing second before the turian turned his back on her.

_Ok that wasn't awkward at all..._

As Antonia poured herself another cup of coffee, Alana was idly watching Paola cleaning behind the counter.

"Both you and Paola were born in the same country on Earth, right?" she asked. Antonia looked up from her coffee. What an odd question.

"Puerto Rico? Yeah, it's a small island in between north and south America," Antonia took a sip of her coffee. "Why do you ask?"

The asari leaned onto the table and put her face into her hands and stared at her sister. "Because I, like, know nothing about you! I ask mom and dad all the time but they just say 'oh what is there to know? she's just your sister!' Like it's nothing special."

Antonia cringed inwardly and tightened her grip on her mug. "Oh Lana… there really isn't anything special about me," she tried to laugh it off. "I'm just a C-Sec officer who lives in an apartment."

"Well if you and Paola are from the same country, why do you look different?" Again, another odd question.

"Well… I was born in Puerto Rico and so was dad, but my mom was from Canada. She had the blue eyes and that's where I got them," she took a sip of coffee.

"Your skin is lighter too."

"My mom had light skin."

Alana narrowed her eyes at Antonia. Putting both hands on the table, she stood up, knocking the chair back. Antonia's eyes widened slightly.

"Where is your mom? Why did she leave dad?"

"Lana… " Antonia said warningly.

"I want to know! Mom and dad never talk about you. It's like you don't exist to them! I know you're not a bad person either, so is it because of your mom? Did she do something to make them not like you?"

Antonia's eye twitched and she set her cup down rather hard on the table. The noise startled Alana who covered her mouth with her hands.

"If you really have to know, my mom is dead."

Alana gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. A dark blue blush stained her cheeks.

"I'm sorry." she whispered through her fingers. Antonia gave a loud sigh and leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table. She held her head in her hands for a moment before looking back up at Alana.

"It's ok. You didn't know."

"There's a lot I don't know."

_Touche._

"Lana… look I…," Antonia paused a moment to collect her thoughts. "I didn't just up and leave you. I had to leave for health issues," Antonia cringed inwardly as Alana put her hands on the table with her full attention. "You know I was in an accident when I was little right?"

Alana slowly nodded her head.

"Well I have cybornetics in my chest. Mostly around my heart and lung," Antonia pulled back the V of her blouse just enough to show a faint pulsing green light under her skin. Alana noticed heavy scarring around the light. "I have a monitor installed in my chest that corrisponds with my omni-tool to keep track of my vitals. I really have to be careful when I'm out on the field so I don't 'overheat' the mechanics in there."

"I already know_ that_. But what does it have to do with you leaving?" Alana folded her arms.

"Well," Antonia paused. "Dad felt I would get better health care living on the Citadel with Paola. She use to be my nanny. Your's too I think."

Alana seemed to think on this new information before nodding. _Oh the lies she could tell._

"That still doesn't excuse you for not sending me vids. Or even an email." Antonia felt her mouth quirk in a half smile.

"Well had I known you could send vids or emails at the age of five, I may have done just that."

Alana went to open her mouth to speak but then closed it with her lips pressed thin. Antonia couldn't help but laugh at the glare her sister shot at her.


End file.
